Boat bailer



Aug. 28, 1951 L. w. REITZ BOAT BAILER Filed March 10, 1950 Patented Aug.28, 1951 BOAT BAILERL Loy: W. Reitz, Fort:.Wayne, Ind., assignor toMarine Industries 'Incorp oratfiLFortWayne;1nd,,

acorporation-of Indiana ApplicationMarchlO, 1950,*Serial- No. 148,973

This invention relates generally to a bailing devicean'd moreparticularly. to a bailing device which will automatically dischargebilgewater from aboat in response to movement of the boat through thewater.

Numerous devices have been proposed in the prior art for automaticallybailing water from thehull of a boat as the boat moves through thewater. The operating rinciple-of such devices is based on the suction:or aspirator effect produced bythe rapid fiow'of water through asuction-inducing member extending into the water on the outside of theboat and communicating with the bilge of the boat by suitable conduitsor fluid passageways. In most instances the suction-inducing member isrigidly secured by screws or like means to some portion of the boat,usually at theside orat the bottom of the hull. Thus, the'bailer is amore or less permanent attachment to the boat and-cannotbeeasily-removed for use on other boats when desired. In other prior artproposals the suction-inducing member is attached to a length offiex-ible hose and is permitted to trail behind the boat withthe resultthat the device is cumbersome to use-and is subiect to entanglement withother objects inthe water.

None of the boat'bailing devices heretofore suggested have beenoa-pableof rapid and easy attachment or detachment from a boat such thatthe device can be readily changed from one-boat to another withoutencountering the aforementioned disadvantages. Moreoven prior to myinvention no provision hasbeen made in a device of this character foradjusting the device to permit attachment to boat hulls of varying size.

Accordingly, a primary object of my invention is to provide a boatbailing device which is detachably securable to the boat andwhich may bequickly and easily removed when desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic boat bailerwhich is detachably mountable in a rapid and simple manner and which hasan adjustable construction to'fit boats of varying size.

A further object of the invention-is to provide a boat bailing device inwhich the structural relationship of the partsof the device is such thatthe device closely conforms to the hullcontour and'grips the same forfrictionally and detachably retaining the device in place without theneed for screws or other additional fastening means.

An additional object of theinvention is to provide a bailing device ofthecharacter-described 3; Claims; (Cl. 1-14. 185

which is ofsimple, rugged, and inexpensive construction and which can bereadily manipulated with ordinary skilland without special tools.

--O.ther objects and: advantages of the invention will-become evidentfrom the subsequent detailed description taken in connection'with theaccomp anying; :drawing' wherein:

iliig; 11 is a side elevational View of a boat bailing device comprisingone specific embodiment ofmy invention, the device being shown in placeon the transom of a boat;

Fig. '2-1;is-a'front elevational view of the device as seen. along; thelined-+2 of Eig. 1; and:

Figs 3; is a rear elevational" view of the device as seen along;thee-line 33;10f Fig. 1.

r-Broadly. speakingpmy device comprises an assembly of: a:suction-inducing member and a tubular-means adapted: to. extendvinto.the bilge of; a: :boat,' the; entire assembly: being; .adjustablysecured'toamountingelement adaptedto Zfit over and. to ;be retainedvonthe hull of'the boat, particularly-- at: the-stern thereofv Preferably;the mounting. element-is, in; the form; of a spring or resilient clipforfrictionally gripping the hull.

Referring now. to: the drawing, wherein one specific; structuralembodiment ofi-the invention isashown merely byway of illustration, atubular suction-inducingmember I 1', preferably of metal,isvprovidedfladjacent the stern of the boat and extendsforwardly aslight distancebelow the flat bottom: 1250f the boat. Iheforward end ofthe tube: I l isifiared outwardly, as at 13, to increase thesuction-producing effect as the boat moves through'the water, and a topportion of the flared rim: 1 351s cut away to. permit the tube H to fitfiatwise against the bottom of the boat, as best seen at. M. in-Figs. 2'and. 3. A Weedless attachment-comprising a length of. bent wire I5 issecured: to the forward-end of the tube H and slants-downwardly at itsforward end for-engaging and diverting weeds and the like to prevententryofthe.- same into the suction-inducing tube: I I.

Anelongated rigid tubular member l6 preferably of-metaland comprisingtheouter leg of a- -U'-tube arrangement is rig-idly fastened, as bywelding; or brazing, to the suction-inducing tube H and extendsupwardlyand rearwardly therefromat substantially the same angle ofinclination as the rear portion or transom I! of the boat. 'The lowerend ofthe tube IB' iscut offin as-slantedmanner-and extends into thesuctioninducing tube H, as seen at 18, so that a suction or-aspiratoreffect is prgduced'in ;the tube l6 as water flows rapidly through thetube l I- during forward movement of the boat. Attached to the upper endof the tube I6 is a length of flexible tubing or hose [9 which extendsover the top of the transom l1 and downwardly into the bilge of the boatto provide the inner leg of the U-tube arrangement. A screen or strainerelement 2| is fitted into the lower end of the tube 19 to preventclogging or obstruction of the device by foreign solid matter which maybe present in the bilge water. A coil spring 22 is disposed internallywithin the flexible hose l9 at the U-bend portion thereof and serves toprevent collapse and excessive restriction of this portion of the hose.

Although any suitable flexible material such as rubber, plastic, or thelike may be used for the tube I9, I have found that a transparentplastic composition is especially desirable since it permits the user ofthe device to observe the fiow of bilge water in the U-tu be and therebycheck on the operation of the device from time to time.

For mounting the U-tube and suction-inducing element on the boat, anattaching member is provided in the form of a bent clamp or clip,indicated generally at 23. The member 23 is preferably formed from aflat spring metal strap of substantially greater width than the diameterof the tubes I6 and 19. The strap is bent in a generally U-shapedconfiguration to provide a mounting clip having an outer leg 24 adaptedto extend adjacent the outer surface of the tran som I! and an inner leg26 which is bowed or curved inwardly, as at 21, for engaging the innersurface of the transom I1 and thereby providing a resilient clampingaction. The end portion of the leg 25 is bent outwardly, as indicated at28, in order to permit easy manipulation of the device during attachmentand detachment thereof. The outer leg 24 of the clip 23 is prefereablybent outwardly to a slight extent at its intermediate portion so thatwhen the leg 24 is disposed adjacent the outside of the transom l'Ithere is a slight clearance, as indicated at 29 in Fig. 1, between thetransom I1 and the leg 24 Z over a substantial portion of the length ofthe latter. Thus, the leg 24 is in contact with the transom IT atessentially two points whereiby to insure a tight firm fit of the clip23 on the transom I! even though the outer surface of the transom may bewarped or out of alignment.

The rigid tubular member I6 is firmly but adjustably secured to theouter leg 24 of the clip 23 by means of a pair of clamps or retainers 3|which are fitted over the tube l6 and screwed to the leg 24 by means ofa plurality of screws 32. In addition, a similar clamp or retainer 33 isattached to the leg 26 of the clip 23 bymeans of a pair of screws 34 forloosely and movably holding the flexible tubing I9 in place, ashereinafter described.

In the use of the device, the legs 24 and 26 of the clip 23 are spreadapart manually to permit the clip to be fitted over the transom (1 ofthe boat and the forwardly extending portion of the suction-inducingtube II is fitted into place beneath the bottom l2 of the boat. Thedevice is thus rigidly attached to the transom of the boat as a resultof the tight frictional and resilient grippin action of the legs 24 and26 at the outside and inside, respectively, of the transom I1 and theinterlocking fit of the tube II in cooperating engagement with thebottom of the boat. Because of the width of the spring metal strap fromwhich the C1ip 23 is formed there is no substantial tendency for thedevice to rock or wobble when in place on the transom of the boat.Rocking movement is further prevented by the outwardly bent constructionof the leg 24 whereby to insure two-point contact of the leg 24 againstthe outside of the transom II. It will be evident that if the leg 24were in the form of a straight flat strip, the outer surface of thetransom I! would have to be absolutely flat and level to insure a tightnon-wobblin fit.

To detach the device from the transom of the boat it is only necessaryto grasp the end portion 28 of the leg 26 and thereby spread the legs ofthe'clip 23 sufficiently to permit the tube II to be disengaged from itsnormal position beneath the bottom of the boat whereupon the entiredevice can be lifted upwardly from the transom. Inasmuch as my boatbailing device can be attached and detached from the transom of a boatby rapid and simple manipulations requiring neither special tools normore than average skill, it will be apparent that the bailing device canbe easily transferred from one boat to another thereby providingsubstantial advantage over the bailing devices heretofore proposed inthe art.

By varying the position of the rigid tubular member l6 relative to theouter leg 24 of the clip 23, it will be seen that the device can beadjusted to accommodate different transom heights while at the same timeinsuring that the forwardly extending portion of the tube II will be inclose fitting engagement with the bottom of the boat. In addition, theflexible hose l9 which is loosely and movably held by the retainer 33may be raised or lowered as desired in order to position the inlet endof the hose at any desired point in the bilge of the boat.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a singlestructural embodiment, it will be understood that various modificationsand alternative constructions may be resorted to without departing fromthe scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bailing device for a boat comprising a U-tube adapted to fit overthe transom of a boat and having an inner leg adapted to extend into thebilge of the boat and an outer leg adapted to extend into the wateroutside the boat, a suctioninducing member at the end of said outer leghaving a portion adapted to extend forwardly beneath the bottom of theboat in cooperating engagement therewith, a mounting clip adapted to fitover the upper edge of the transom and having said U-tube adjustablymounted thereon for accommodating transo-ms of varying height, and meansfor rigidly securing said U-tube in predetermined adjusted position onsaid clip whereby to retain the forwardly extending portion of saidsuction-inducing member in engagement with the bottom of the boat andthereby retain the clip in place on the transom.

2. A bailing device for a boat comprising U-tube means adapted to fitover the transom of a boat and having an inner leg adapted to extendinto the bilge of the boat and an outer leg adapted to extend into thewater outside the boat, a suction-inducing member at the end of saidouter leg having a portion adapted to extend forwardly beneath thebottom of the boat in engagement therewith, a generally U-shapedresilient clip member adapted to fit over the transom and having a pairof depending legs adapted to frictionally and resiliently engage thetransom on opposite sides thereof and having a connecting portionadapted to extend over the upper edge of the transom, said U-tube meansbeing adjustably attached to said. clip member for relative movementtherebetween whereby to permit mounting the the device on transoms ofdifferent heights, and fastening means for rigidly securing said U-tubemeans in predetermined adjusted position on said clip member whereby tohold said forwardly extending portion of said suction-inducing member inengagement with the bottom of the body and thereby retain said clipmember against upward displacement.

3. A bailing device for a boat comprising U-tube means including anelongated rigid tubular member adapted to extend adjacent the outside ofthe transom of a boat, a suctioninducing member at the lower end of saidrigid tubular member having a forwardly extending portion adapted to fitunder the bottom of the boat in engagement therewith, a flexible tubularmember attached to the upper end of said rigid tubular member andadapted to extend over the transom of the boat and downwardly into thebilge of the boat, a resilient generally U-shaped mounting clip adaptedto be fitted over the transom of the boat, said clip having inner andouter leg portions for resiliently gripping the transom therebetween anda connecting portion adapted to extend over the upper edge of thetransom, said rigid tubular member being adjustably fastened to theouter leg of said clip for relative longitudinal movement therebetweenwhereby the forwardly extending portion of said suctioninducing membermay be positioned in engagement with the bottom of the boat for varyingtransom heights, and fastening means for rigidly securing said rigidtubular member in predetermined adjusted position on said outer legwhere by to retain the forwardly extending portion of saidsuction-inducing member in said engagement and thereby prevent upwarddisplacement of said clip, said flexible tubular member being looselyand movably retained on the inner leg of said clip member whereby topermit the inlet end of said flexible tubular member to be positioned atthe desired location in the bilge of the boat.

LOY W. REITZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 349,497 Haydn Sept. 21, 1886682,269 Poe Sept. 10, 1901 960,221 Fogelmark May 31, 1910 1,627,734Gavaza May 10, 1927 1,897,524 McEachern Feb. 14, 1983 2,120,858 DavantJune 14, 1938 2,418,252 Engle Apr. 1, 1947 2,479,783 Sawyer et a1 Aug.23, 1949

